The Day We Went For Jewelry Shopping
by Aurelian Girl
Summary: Wife of a WWII veteran takes a fancy with a piece of jewelry she cannot afford, while struggling with her husband's illness, her severe heart condition & the financial distress. But remember...miracles do happen!


The Day We Went For Jewelry Shopping:  
>Emmanuelle Chaplin is the nicest person you will ever meet.<p>

She is a 65-year old pediatrician nurse, who has been working at a hospital in Salt Lake City for the past 45 years. She is a dark blonde woman, with lean, slender body, crow's feet and chap fallen face, that'll make you realize how pretty she must have been during her youth.

Everyday, she wakes up at 7 am, brushes her teeth, takes a shower, cooks breakfast and then goes to work. She works until 8 pm at the hospital, where everyone, including her 'little' patients and colleagues (both the doctors and the nurses) love, respect and adore her the utmost.

After finishing her shift, she takes the last train home before the midnight one, to her one-bedroom apartment that she shares with her husband.

Her husband is 68-year old WWII veteran, Ned Chaplin, who, due to suffering from Alzheimer's and rheumatism, cannot go out and be the bread winner of this family of two.

Ned Chaplin is also a blond, but strawberry blond, with thick eyebrows and same elderly features as Emmanuelle. He often forgets her and his true age and confuses the years, mistaking it for the years of the Cold War, the Vietnam War or the Berlin Wall. Their living room has a wide display of all the medals and crests he had won for his heroic participation in the WWII. He often keeps Emmanuelle up at night, boasting of his achievements. Ned mostly uses his wheelchair to move around, since the rheumatism often cripples him.

Emmanuelle took the job of a nurse not only because she loves and adores kids that she couldn't have for herself, but also because it offers them a proper medical plan. It covers all the expanses needed to pay for Ned's treatment. It also, however, deprives her from wishing to buy things for herself only.

Until now, she has always been shoving off her desires to buy a piece of jewelry or a beautiful antique piece that she happened to like.

But recently, she has been making a regular stop at the jewelry shop just opposite her apartment building, where Lennox, her neighhbor from downstairs works as the sales woman.

The reason why she makes that stop is not because to say 'hi' to her, but because of a pearl necklace. A beautiful pearl necklace, with a piece of ruby as the centerpiece. Everyday, whenever she goes out for either grocery shopping or for work, she stops for at least a minute and keeps adoring it, since she can't afford the necklace worth of 750$. She once touched it, when she went to meet Lennox as an excuse to ask her for her younger brother's health, who was recovering from pneumonia then.

You might think, other than this financial problem, Emmanuelle's life is good, but it is not! Let me tell you, despite being nice to everyone she meets, life itself wasn't nice to her. She has a heart condition, which has coerced her to go for a regular health check-up every month with Dr. Evan Armstrong, the head of cardio of the hospital. He is 12 years younger than her, whose loving wife, Miranda loves Emmanuelle and sends her Christmas and New Years' card every 'freaking' year!

Anyway, Emmanuelle had experienced a life-threatening heart attack a year ago, that got her worried, not for her life, but about what Ned will do if something happens to her. She asked Dr. Armstrong to arrange a place for him in the local rest home, in case she ever pushes the daisies.

This morning was no different than usual. After feeding Ned, she got dressed for work and started for the hospital. She was sitting on a bench, waiting for the train to arrive, when it happened...

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on a bed, in a room from the geriatrics section of the hospital where she works, surrounded by almost the entire hospital. She saw Dr. Armstrong near the bedside table, heaving a sigh in relief.

"You scared us pretty good, Emmy!", he calls her that way. She saw Miranda carrying a bouquet of flowers and a basket full of food just for her.

"Oh my God, Emmy! You scared the hell out of me! Don't ever do that!", her best friend, 28-year old brunette nurse, Susan cried out. Emmanuelle pressed her hand softly.

"Okay, everybody! This beautiful lady is fine for now! But let us give her some privacy.", Dr. Armstrong tried to clear out the room.

"First a prayer! Everyone...hold hands together please! Alright...dear Lord! Today, with joint hands, we pray to you, to thank you for saving this wonderful soul and please bless her with all the happiness she truly deserves, no matter how small they are! Amen!", Miranda hurriedly & loudly prayed for Emmanuelle.

"Amen!", everyone said out loud simultaneously.

"How is Ned? Did you check on him?", Emmanuelle asked Dr. Armstrong, who was checking her heartbeat. It was snowing outside. She was gone for the entire day.

"Yes, I did. Mrs. Holt, your landlady's taking care of him. You don't need to worry for him at all, okay? Take rest now. You'll have to stay here for at least two more days. I better go. Miranda's waiting for me. Goodnight and merry Christmas.", saying so, Dr. Armstrong headed for the door.

"Goodnight. Wish Miranda 'Merry Christmas' from me!", Emmanuelle replied, before Dr. Armstrong put out the light and then left.

Emmanuelle tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't help worrying about Ned. She tried to keep her mind off of it, so she started thinking about that beautiful necklace. Last time she bought a piece of jewelry was 42 years ago, on her 3rd wedding anniversary. Ned was very romantic then. Now, he mostly complains about stuff, when he remembers everything. Emmanuelle heaved a sigh in exasperation, as she looked outside the window, watching the snowfall. Someone must have bought that necklace by now. Just her luck!

Two days later, Emmanuelle was finally discharged from the hospital and let to go home. Dylan, the ambulance driver was kind enough to give her a ride home. On her way, she stopped by the jewelry store, to check the current status of the necklace.

It was gone!

"Hi, Emmy! So nice to see you! I heard about your heart attack. Are you okay?", Lennox politely asked her, when she entered.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you so much for asking. How's Leslie?", Emmanuelle inquired about her brother.

"He's fine now. He just joined his school's soccer team. So, that's good.", Lennox replied cheerfully.

"What, um, what happened to the pearl necklace that was at the display outside? The one with the ruby?", Emmanuelle hesitantly asked her.

"Oh, it was bought by someone a day ago. I wasn't here then. It was Megan's shift. Did you like it? Did you want to buy it?", Lennox squinted her eyes out of curiosity.

"Um, well, yes. But that's gone now and um, I can't, um, afford it. Anyway, it was nice running into you, Lennox. I'll take your leave now. Bye.", saying so, Emmanuelle left the store, not looking back at the display again.

Mrs. Holt, Emmanuelle's landlady and next-door neighbor was kind enough to tolerate Ned's tantrum and look after him for two days.

"I don't know how on earth you tolerate him, Ems! He's absolutely impossible to live with!", she lightly complained to Emmanuelle, while handing her keys to her.

"I'm extremely sorry for the inconvenience, Sally.", Emmanuelle apologized politely.

"It's okay! I didn't do this for him. I only did it for you! Do you need anything? Coffee?", she asked her.

"No, thank you. I'll take your leave now.", saying so, Emmanuelle entered her apartment.

The apartment was just as she had left it two days ago. But she noticed some medals missing from Ned's cabinet.

"I hope Sally hasn't lost them! Oh my!", she thought to herself, as she headed to her bedroom.

While she was heading towards her bedroom, she suddenly saw the decorated Christmas tree in the living room, that she had borrowed from the tree shop which was a block away. It wasn't the tree that took her attention, it was the gift box underneath it! It was in a red wrapping paper, with white ribbons. When she opened it, she was flabbergasted.

It was the pearl necklace! But how...

She has now solved the mystery behind the missing medals from the cabinet. She has also unraveled who it was from.

"Emmie! I need hot water! The lieutenant just called! Those Japs have attacked the Pearl Harbor! Damn those Nazi-lovers! I need to leave immediately! Emmie! Emmie! Where are my boots?", she heard Ned calling her from the other room. He was in 1941 now, instead of 1984, the current year.

She remembered the last time he'd bought a piece of jewelry for her. It was 42 years ago, May, 1942, on her 3rd wedding anniversary. It wasn't from Tiffany's, but it was beautiful, because they did it together!

The day they went for jewelry shopping!

"Emmie? Emmie?", Ned kept calling her. Emmanuelle silently headed to the room, smiling all the way.

Like I said...Emmanuelle Chaplin is the nicest person you'll ever meet!


End file.
